Tuesday, March 20, 2007
The political value of a specific date for retreat from Iraq
Peter Wehner considers "Iraq, Democrats, and the Return of McGovernism," via Glenn Reynolds, who linked with the caption "because it worked so well for them the first time." Wehner asks, rhetorically,
General David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq who was confirmed by the Senate without a single vote in opposition, is one of America's great military minds and one of America's great military commanders. Why oh why, then, are so many Democrats spending so much of their time and creative energy in an effort to undermine General Petraeus's new strategy instead of supporting it?
Wehner is deputy assistant to the President and director of the White House's Office of Strategic Initiatives, so it is safe to say that he has a political ax to grind. He is too smooth, however, to say directly what everybody knows: the Democrats are desperate for a specific determination that the United States will withdraw from Iraq before Hillary's deadline of March 31, 2008 so that they do not have to expose the divisions in their own party over Iraq during their primary season, campaign on it in the general election, or become accountable for Iraq after January 20, 2009. They will have to do all of those things if a decision to withdraw is not taken or imposed by the end of 2007, and it terrifies them.
5 Comments:
By 
Cardinalpark, at
Tue Mar 20, 05:37:00 PM:
you know what might be really clever for the Democrats? Declare Victory in Iraq and move on.
Suppose in 6 months Hillary says - I would like to commend General Petraeus and the men and women of the US military. They have done an extraordinary job. They secured Iraq from its tyrant and delivered it to its people. They have a representative government, security and a growing economy. God Bless them and America.
What would Obama say?
By Purple Avenger, at
Tue Mar 20, 06:01:00 PM:
Expect a Fallon betrayal any time now. This is working much too well to be acceptable.
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Tue Mar 20, 06:25:00 PM:
Many Americans are too impatient. A good example is the death of George Eastman in 1932. He founded Eastman Kodak Company. At the age of 77, he wrote a note: "My work is done. Why wait?" Then he shot and killed himself.
By Assistant Village Idiot, at
Tue Mar 20, 08:48:00 PM:
TH - if this is true, then wouldn't it be evidence that Democrats care more about the 2008 election than American security? Surely you jest.
By Dan Kauffman, at
Wed Mar 21, 08:50:00 AM:
Many Americans are too impatient
Then why are we still in Germany?
